Soulja Boy Dropped April’s Biggest Music NFT — And Then It Got Pulled

As the tech hype shifts from crypto to AI, the Web3 space is left trying to figure out sustainable use cases for NFTs and blockchain technology. Progress is being made through shared streaming royalties, Web3 fan clubs that unlock exclusive content, and a new wave of independent artists finding their first supporters and early fans by releasing their music on-chain.

However, Web3 still attracts cash grabs and, sometimes, outright scams. This mix of good and bad was reflected in April as many independent artists stood shoulder to shoulder with Snoop Dogg in terms of sales — but the month was marred by a rushed Soulja Boy NFT that was delisted from major platforms.

Overall, April was the worst month for NFT volume (in ETH terms) on the popular sales platform OpenSea since July 2021 and that weakness was reflected in the music NFT market. Volume across the 10 biggest projects netted 278.4 ETH, down from 381 ETH in March. In dollar terms, it’s $509,714, compared to March’s $697,393. Based on analysis of sales data from 19 different NFT platforms, independent releases combined with secondary sales volume on OpenSea, here are the 10 biggest-selling music NFTs and collections in March 2023.

1/ Soulja Boy – 3D Game NFT (Delisted by OpenSea)
Monthly trading volume: 114 ETH ($208,734)
Primary sales (March): N/A
Secondary sales: 114 ETH ($208,734)
Drop date: April 6

After Soulja Boy was charged in March for promoting cryptocurrencies without disclosure by the SEC, the rapper dropped a series of NFTs, with one collection removed by OpenSea for copyright infringement. 

Soulja Boy launched a collection of 500 3D NFTs which promised to unlock exclusive extras in his upcoming video game. The NFTs sold out within hours, generating 68 ETH ($124,508), but the collection was later taken down by leading NFT platform OpenSea because the artwork featured the Ferrari logo — a copyright infringement. The NFTs still exist on the Ethereum blockchain but cannot be traded or sold by holders. A second collection followed (without the Ferrari logo) generating 10 ETH ($18,310) volume, and a third collection of pixel art generated 36 ETH ($65,916). 

The NFT community hit back at Soulja Boy, not only for the fumbled NFT projects but for pocketing as much as $730,000 over recent years for promoting crypto and NFTs — many of which turned out to be scams.

2/ Snoop Dogg – Various collections
Monthly trading volume: 39.896 ETH ($73,049)
Primary sales (March): 5.775 ETH
Secondary sales: 34.121 ETH
Drop date: various

A rare Snoop Dogg NFT — the “golden egg” from his XYZ track — sold for 20 ETH in April, the highest price paid for a single music NFT on Web3 music platform Sound.xyz. The “golden egg” is a unique 1/1 collectible associated with the song within the bigger collection of 10,000. Golden eggs are often valued highly by music collectors on the platform. Snoop Dogg also dropped another song, Let Me Hit That, on Sound.xyz last month, netting a further 5.74 ETH ($10,509), while his “Bacc on Death Row” NFT collection generated 14 ETH ($25,634) in trading volume on OpenSea.

View the collection on Sound.xyz.

3/ Deafbeef
Monthly trading volume: $61,314
Primary sales (March): $46,000
Secondary sales: $15,314
Drop date: March 2021

Deafbeef is a music project valued like fine art by many in the Web3 space. It’s a collection of generative music, created by an algorithm, and coded into existence on a 10-year old computer by musician Deafbeef. Minted straight to the Ethereum blockchain at the moment of creation, it represents an experimental art form only possible through Web3 and it’s considered one of the most important early NFT experiments. These rare items are often referred to as “grails” and thought of like art pieces. A single edition changed hands for $46,000 last month, while Deafbeef also sold a new piece at auction for $15,314.

View the collection on OpenSea.

4/ KINGSHIP – “Keycards”
Monthly trading volume: 23 ETH ($42,113)
Primary sales (March): N/A
Secondary sales: 23 ETH
Drop date: May 2022

The Bored Ape Supergroup has become a permanent fixture of the monthly roundup with another month of strong trading volume on OpenSea through April. KINGSHIP recently launched a way for holders to generate rewards called ‘Crowns’ by participating in the community, which they can use to buy exclusive items and NFTs via a new auction system.

View the collection on OpenSea.

5/ PLS&TY – “New Color”
Monthly trading volume: $37,229
Primary sales (March): $37,229
Secondary sales: N/A
Drop date: April 27

PLS&TY is a prolific EDM producer with hundreds of millions of streams across his music on YouTube and Spotify. He’s also an early adopter in the NFT space. The producer’s latest collection on GALA Music — a Web3 music platform that Snoop Dogg called his home for Death Row Records featuring several NFTs drops from artists on the label — generated $37,229 with a collection of 300 audiovisual NFTs.

View the collection on OpenSea.

6/ X Li – “think i’m in love with you”
Monthly trading volume: 20.121 ETH ($36,841)
Primary sales (March): 20.121 ETH
Secondary sales: N/A
Drop date: April 26

Independent LA singer X Li exploded onto the Web3 music scene in April with a heartbreak ballad — a departure from the typical EDM and hip- hop sounds that dominate the space. The track quickly rocketed to the top three3 most collected songs on Sound.xyz with over 4,000 mints. X Li has previously worked with Sony Music Entertainment China but is now embracing Web3 and building a music community called Liberal Mafias.

View the collection on Sound.xyz.

7/ Violetta Zironni – “Another Life”
Monthly trading volume: 11 ETH ($20,141)
Primary sales (March): N/A
Secondary sales: 11 ETH
Drop date: Feb. 20

Italian singer-songwriter Violetta Zironi launched an NFT collection, Another Life — an EP encompassing five tracks and 5,500 unique profile picture illustrations. Holders get access to virtual shows, live concerts and the ability to use the songs for their own projects. The project launched in February but continued to generate strong secondary sales through April.

View the collection on OpenSea.

8/ LNRZ – “Satellites”
Monthly trading volume: 6.3 ETH ($11,535)
Primary sales (March): 6.3 ETH
Secondary sales: N/A
Drop date: April 21

LNRZ is a music collective founded by Reo Cragun, a pioneering artist in the Web3 music space and vocalist on Flume’s EP “Quits.” The collective is known for releasing music NFTs every week through curated drops with select artists, but in April they released their first original body of work. Satellites is a six-track album featuring five emerging musicians that came together at a songcamp in Las Vegas. The LNRZ community voted on the price, supply and rarity structure of the NFT drop, which sold out 1,250 editions in 24 hours.

View the collection on Sound.xyz.

9/ Culture Code, Araya & RUNN – “After All”
Monthly trading volume: ~$9,697
Primary sales (March): ~$9,697
Secondary sales: N/A
Drop date: April 10

After All is a dreamy electronic track that racked up 800,000 streams since its release in February. DJ and producer duo Culture Code sold a percentage of streaming royalties in the track via music rights platform Royal. The pair sold approximately 100 gold tokens offering 0.1228% ownership each, and three diamond tokens at $899 each offering 1.6204%.

View the collection on Royal.

10/ Illenium – “Illenium Fire, Ice & Ash” digital deluxe albums
Monthly trading volume: $8,908
Primary sales (March): $8,908
Secondary sales: N/A
Drop date: April 27

DJ and producer Illenium entered the top 10 in March with a Web3 access pass that granted access to a fan club powered by tech company Medallion. He returned in April with the release of a digital deluxe album, available in three limited editions, only to the fan club. Fans that own the first two editions can unlock the ultra-exclusive third edition, or two fans can team up to unlock the third.

Only available to fan club members.

Methodology: The chart was compiled using data from primary music NFT sales across 19 different NFT platforms, independent releases and combined with secondary volume data from OpenSea. Data was captured between April 1 – April 30, 2023. Conversion rates from crypto to US dollars were calculated on April 30.

Disclaimer: The author owns NFTs from LNRZ and Snoop Dogg, however, the above list is based purely on sales data.